Shirt for invalids.



No. 676,l58. Patented lune u l9 0l.

W. E. ST. JOHN.

SHIRT 'FOR "HANDS.

4 (Application filed Feb. 1, 1900) (No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM E. ST. JOHN, OF LEONARDSVILLE, NEW YORK.

SHIRT Foe :INVALIDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 676,158, dated June 11, 1901.

Application filed February 1, 1900. Serial Noi 3,621; (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. ST. JOHN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Leonardsville, in the county of Madison and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Shirts for Invalids, of which the following is a specification.

My improved shirt is provided with a new system of openings to be closed by buttons or other suitable fastenings. In addition to the opening from the neck-aperture at the throat down the front. of the shirt it has an opening from said neck-aperture adjacentto the throat on each side, across the front of each shoulder, and along the front of each sleeve. By this system of openings the tops of the shoulders and sleeves remain permanently attached to the back of the shirt, and when worn bear firmly and smoothly on the body of the wearer, rendering it more comfortable to the latter than any shirt with openings from the neck-aperture across the top of the shoulders (where all the pull of the shirt is applied to the wearer) and along the top of the sleeves. Moreover, by my improved system the closure of the sleeve and shoulder openings being independent of the fastenings for closing the front opening the four portions of the shirt, consisting of the two shoulder-flaps and the two sides of the front, can be fastened at the ends without any cumbersome arrangement, such as would be necessary in a shirt having the sleeve-oped ings brought across the shirt-front to a junction with the front opening, since whatever 3 space may be left at the joining of said four portions in my improved shirt simply forms part of the neck-aperture, whereas if the junction of the front and transverse openings be in the front any space left in joining would leave a hole in the front of the shirt.

A further improvement consists in providing one of the sides of the front and the two shoulder-flaps each with a tab, the three tabs being secured bya proper fastening, such as a button. The fastenin gs are advantageously covered by a smoothly-set strip of fabric outside and also additionally guarded by a loose fold of the fabric on the inside, so that the whole garment is practically smooth and uni form.

sponge or wet towel or any amount of mas- I sage treatment and can be again restored to the condition .of an ordinary shirt with very little disturbance of the patient.

The accompanying drawings form apart of this specification and represent what I con- 'sider the best means of carrying out the in 'vention.

Figure l is a front view of the whole shirt in a partly-opened condition, and Fig. 2 is a corresponding View of the upper front part closed. Fig. 3is a cross-section of one of the sleeves on a larger scale. It is a section on the line 3 3 in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of a portion on line at 4 in Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all thefigures where they appear.

A indicates the main body of the shirt. I will use supernumerals to indicate'specific portions, A to mark the right-hand side (for the patient) at the front and A for the lefthand side at the front.

B B, (the, are the front buttons set on the left side engaging in buttouholes' formed in the right side.

A is a flap left free on the inner face of the garment on the right side A near the front, and A is a strip of fabric extending up and down, also on the right part A, in the position to cover the buttons and buttonholeson their outer face. This strip A is sewed continuously to the main body A, along its right edge A (see Fig. 4,) and is also stitched to the portion A of the body at intervals on the left edge A. The points stitched at intervals on the left edge are marked 0 0. Each point C is about midway between the two adjacent buttonholes. The fabric of each sleeve is marked D. The opening is along the whole length of the front face of each sleeve and is continued across the front side of the corresponding shoulder.

secured together by buttons G. The sleeves are sewed permanently to the body. The opening across the front-ofeach shoulder coincides with and is practically a continuation of the opening of the sleeve. This opening across the shoulder is similarly overlappedi and is secured by three buttons H.

v D is a loose flap of fabric extending along on the inner face of each sleeve-junctioniandi continued along the shoulder-junction-,,and

D is a corresponding strip extending along onv the outer face of each sleeveejunction and also continued along the' shoulder junctio'n. 'Illieseinner and; outer flaps D 'and D for the sleeve; and shoulder junctions may besewed along; one-edge only.

Two-ends of a collar are shown as coming. together at t'he'tliroat and secured by a single stud On the. body the outer front stripA .a-nditheztwo ends of the collar above come together at the front of the neck and are secured a single stud 135%.: (See Fig. 2.)

E'acliiwristi is equipped with a short strap E; secured and released by a button.

Modifications may-be made withoutd'eparting f-romthe principle or sacrificing the advantages of the invention. Parts of themven'tion may be used Without the whole. I can useother fastenings than the fiat but- -tons Therefore in specifying buttons or buttonliol'es in the claims following it will be understood-thahtlieuse-ofequivalent festenings-is-not int/endedtobeexbludd;

I claim as my invention- 1 1. A shirt having a front opening extend ing down the front from the neck-aperture, ;and two shoulder and sleeve openings extendi'ngacross the front of the shoulders and along the front of the sleeves from the neck- {apertnre' at points adjacent to the throat on iopposite sides of said front opening, the shoulder-flaps being fastened by buttons or {temporary fastenings" to. the corresponding sides of the front, and, said flaps and one of 'fsaid front sides being provided with tabs which overlie when the garment isworn so 'as to be secured. together by a singlebut'ton lor. fastening, substantially as-described;

;of an opening on one side providedwiththrce middle layer at intervals between said but tonholes, and the inner layer having its'ed'ge UUOODfiIIGd'SO as to receive the margin and buttons on the other side of the opening between said middle and said inner-layer; sub stantially as described;

In testimony that I claim the invention above'set forth I' affix my signature in the presence of-twowitnesses.

WILLIAM E. JOHN Witnesses:

G. W. DAVIS,

WILLIAM A. BA'BCOCK.

2. A shirt or garment havingthe'margin layers of fabric, the middle layer carryii'ng thebuttonhol'es, the outerlayer, stitched to-said 

